


Go on as three

by kerithwyn



Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M, Triad Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-16 07:32:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4616709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerithwyn/pseuds/kerithwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where three-person relationships are the norm, Lincoln Lee finds a new place to belong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smallearthcat (vamplover82)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vamplover82/gifts).



> Written for MM Rares 2015 for smallearthcat. A very Fringe AU (s4-ish, no actual timelines apply).

The decision to move to Boston was easier than Lincoln thought it would be. He’d tried to maintain his relationship with Julie after Robert’s death eight months ago, but Robert had always been the center of their triad. He and Jules parted as friends, but no more than that.

Lincoln had been perversely glad for the introduction to a tiny division with a very unusual mandate. Diving into something completely different gave him an easy, clean break from Hartford and the life he’d known there. He had Olivia Dunham to thank for that; whatever she’d seen in him during the Dana Gray case that made her think he’d be a good addition to Fringe Division, he was grateful for it.

Charlie Francis and Astrid Farnsworth helped him settle into his new responsibilities, warning him against Dr. Bishop’s eccentricities. He liked his new colleagues and they seemed glad for his presence. The work was...strange...but he could deal with strange.

The rest of his life took more getting used to. He’d been taken aback by his search for a place to lay his head: It boiled down to renting a tiny solo apartment and hating the landlord’s pitying glance.

Lincoln didn’t think he’d ever get used to ordering take out for one, buying a single movie ticket, turning off the other two “seatbelt unfastened” indicators in his car. It’d been years since he recognized how distinctly the world was angled toward triads. Even the FBI, with its commitment toward diversity, reflected a bias for established trios among its senior agents. There were very few solos or couples in the upper ranks, and those mostly a result of a recent death or relationship dissolution.

In another life he might have proposed finding a third with Olivia, but Olivia seemed so determinedly solo. Lincoln understood himself well enough to know that he needed the stability of a triad.

He wasn’t lonely in his new home, though. Charlie and his girlfriend Sonia invited him to dinner a number of times during his first few weeks in Boston. He enjoyed Charlie’s wry humor, Sonia’s bright laughter. And her cooking. They were a solid couple but incomplete, and Lincoln recognized the signs of an established duo who’d recently lost their third. In their case it’d been to a combination of preexisting stresses and a job offer elsewhere for their previous girlfriend.

Astrid also immediately reached out to make him feel welcome, bringing him home to meet her partners Frank and Brandon. They were as stable a trio as Lincoln had ever seen, and he fought down envy as he watched them move easily in each others’ orbits.

But acclimating to a new city and a new job was more than enough to occupy him. He’d put his personal life on the back burner for the time being when Charlie waved for his attention over a stack of newly unredacted X-Files and asked,

“You wanna go out sometime?”

The offer was so casual Lincoln wasn’t quite sure of Charlie’s intent. “Beer-after-work out, or...?”

“Definitely ‘or.’” Charlie looked him up and down, not quite leering. “I like your brain. I’d like to see what’s under the suit.”

Lincoln hastily readjusted his worldview while fighting off a blush. “I’d like that too. Sonia agreed?”

“She’s the one who suggested it. We’re ready to settle down once we find our third.”

That was interesting. And a lot more serious than the initial invitation implied. “Olivia didn’t think you were looking for a man.”

“Olivia,” Charlie announced with an amused tone, “doesn’t know everything.”

Lincoln tilted his head, suspicious of Charlie’s certainty. “Why would she think you were only interested in a female third?”

“History.” Charlie sighed. “When Olivia first joined the Bureau, she and her partner John Scott and I gave it a try. That didn’t last long, which was good, because John....” Charlie shook his head. “Long story. You can look it up. Anyway, I met Sonia right after that and yeah, we’ve dated women since then. But that’s not set in stone.”

Lincoln was still a step back. “You dated Olivia?”

Charlie barked a laugh. “We made better friends. Why? You interested?”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Lincoln shrugged. “But I know from past experience I’ll fit better with an established couple.”

“That’s what Sonia said. She’s got a good sense about people.”

“Of course she does,” Lincoln said quietly, “she chose you.”

“Aww. Easy compliments, I like it.” Charlie grinned. “Tell you what, we could start with that beer, just us. Then you and Sonia should spend some time together. Plan?”

“Good plan.” Lincoln bent back to the files, smiling. He hadn’t really thought about Charlie and Sonia as a possibility, not after Olivia’s comments. But he already liked them both, that was a good first step.

* * *

Despite the insinuation about his intentions, Charlie didn’t make a move on their first date.

The good news, Lincoln thought, was that they didn’t have to do the usual getting-to-know-you dance. He and Charlie had spent enough time together at work and over dinners to know they were pretty much on the same page on the topics that concerned their livelihoods. (That boiled down to: trust Olivia Dunham with your life, don’t turn your back on Walter Bishop, and never underestimate the depths of weird shit waiting to make your job difficult.)

They ended up at a local bar, talking about how they spent their altogether-too-rare leisure time. Charlie wasn’t much of a sci-fi fan, and he actively loathed modern-day cop-and-lawyer dramas. “If they don’t bother to get anything right,” he said with disgust, “they’re not worth my time.”

But he did love zombie-apocalypse stories (“No ethical dilemma about shooting zombies”) and, he admitted with some reticence, period dramas.

“That’s Sonia’s fault!” Charlie protested. “She was watching _Downton Abbey_ and I got sucked in.”

Lincoln felt he had a moral obligation to tease. “You realize they’re all soap operas in fancy dress.”

“They’re _historical_ ,” Charlie said mulishly, digging in. “You learn stuff.”

“Uh-huh.”

Charlie eyed him over his beer, clearly deciding not to argue about it. “I should warn you, though. Sonia loves musicals.”

Lincoln considered this for a moment, then decided secrets would be a poor way to start. “When the beating of your heart/Echoes the beating of the drums/There is a life about to start/When tomorrow comes!” he sang softly, not wandering too far off-key.

Charlie groaned. “I’m gonna be outnumbered. Fine. As long as it’s not goddamn _Cats_ for the eighty-third time.”

“Not my favorite either.” Lincoln polished off his beer and caught Charlie’s eye. “What haven’t you told me that’s important to the two of you?”

Charlie nodded, his fingers involuntarily drumming on the table. “There’s one thing, but Sonia got dibs on discussing it with you. A good thing,” he added to Lincoln’s raised eyebrow. “And y’know, we’ve all been through this before. It doesn’t work out, no harm, no foul.”

“I didn’t have a lot of friends in Hartford,” Lincoln started, not really sure why he was saying it. Charlie already knew that most of Lincoln’s friends had been Julie’s first, or work acquaintances. “Robert and Jules gave me a place to belong, but I wasn’t attached to the city otherwise. I like the work here...” he trailed off. His situation hadn’t really changed.

Charlie was watching him with knowing eyes. “Hazard of the job,” he said. “Fringe even more than regular FBI. You gotta find a way to connect with the community. Sonia,” he added, very casually, “is really good at that. She’s definitely the social one, and she’ll take you along wherever you want to go.”

“What does she...?”

“Volunteer stuff, mostly. She got me coaching Little League, that’s a riot. She does food drives, things like that. Seems like she knows everyone in Boston.”

Lincoln nodded. “Finding ways to get out of your own head. I know the theory, I’ve just never been good at the practice.”

Charlie snorted. “You and Olivia. Peas in a pod. I hope she...” he shook his head. “Never mind. But ya know, Sonia will be happy to help whether we get together or not. Offer’s out there.”

“I’ll think about it,” Lincoln said, meaning it. He glanced around, realizing the lateness of the hour. “Let’s do this again. And tell Sonia I’m looking forward to seeing her.”

“She’s pretty excited,” Charlie confided as they settled up and went out to their cars. “Not to worry you or anything.”

“On the scale of things I’m worried about, that hardly rates,” Lincoln said, smiling. Regardless of how the rest of their dates played out, he had friends here.

But he was beginning to hope for more.

Charlie had been a perfect gentleman, but Lincoln decided he didn’t have to be. Besides, a chemistry test was as important as anything else.

He reached out, putting a hand on Charlie’s arm. Charlie turned and Lincoln went in for a kiss. It was awkward at first—Charlie was a little shorter than him, where Robert had been taller—until Charlie chuckled against his mouth and tilted his head, and then it was good, comfortable. Easy. Like coming home, Lincoln thought, and cautioned himself about falling too quickly, building up his expectations too fast.

He’d never had much luck with that. Maybe this time it’d work out in his favor.

* * *

Sonia had suggested they meet at a casual place for lunch during the weekend. “So much less pressure than dinner, right?”

Lincoln already knew he could relax around her. She had a penchant for terrible jokes, and she loved it when Charlie (or anyone else) laughed at them. Sonia worked from home as a part-time medical transcriptionist. She also ran a blog for FBI wives and as Charlie mentioned, dedicated a considerable part of her time to volunteer work.

“So that’s really all you need to know about me. Except that I’m also really fun in bed.” Sonia grinned at him over her taco salad. “Something to look forward to.”

“Very much so,” Lincoln told her, to hear her giggle. And because his recent bout of celibacy hadn’t been any fun at all.

But maybe they were both getting ahead of themselves. “Charlie said you wanted to talk about something important...?”

“Uh-huh. You should know, we really want kids.” Sonia glanced at him, her face anxious. “I know that’s a big thing to drop on you, right at the beginning. Charlie and I came from traditional families, we didn’t want to start ours until we had a committed third. But that’s not....” she trailed off.

Lincoln could imagine what she’d been about to say. _That’s not a dealbreaker_ , maybe, to reassure him that they didn’t just want him to check off that box. But it clearly was a big factor for them, and he appreciated having the issue laid out from the start.

“Kids are great,” he said, smiling. Robert had begun to hint about that before...before.

Sonia still looked nervous. He reached across the table to touch her hand. “I’m glad you brought it up.”

“Okay, good.” She squeezed his fingers. “Charlie and I like you a lot, Lincoln. And we’re not in _that_ much of a hurry! We can take time to make sure we all fit.”

God, he wanted that. Maybe too much. “I wouldn’t mind taking some time.” He took a long drink to wet his throat. “I was usually the odd man out, until Robert and Jules. I just want to be sure.”

“I don’t think we ever really get that,” Sonia said, her eyes full of empathy. “Charlie and I thought Jody would be with us forever, until she wasn’t. But the way you moved here, jumped into a job I _know_ is a lot more than usual FBI work, you’re not afraid to take a leap of faith. If you’re willing to take a chance on us, we are too. On you, I mean.”

Lincoln had to laugh. Her expression was just so earnest. And adorable. “You two seem like a pretty good bet.”

“We are,” Sonia told him.

Lincoln dug into his nearly forgotten fajitas. But something she’d just said— “Wouldn’t you worry too much, with me and Charlie on the same job?” That’d been a constant source of tension with Jules, and like Sonia had implied, Fringe cases ran far outside the usual playbook.

Sonia sighed, glancing down for a moment before looking back up at him with resolve. “I already understand that your job’s full of ‘things man was not meant to know’ stuff. I know you can’t talk about the specifics. But Charlie and I made a deal that he has to tell me when he’s upset about something. I might not know why, but he can’t shut me out of dealing with it.”

Her face was very serious. “We agreed to that after Charlie got really hurt during a case, and he didn’t tell me while it was happening. He didn’t want to worry me. But how would I have felt afterward if, if he’d died and the last thing I said to him was a stupid joke?” She glanced away, clearly fighting off tears. “Oh, damn, I wasn’t gonna....”

Lincoln put down his fork and got up, switching to the third chair at the table closer to her. He was debating if he should put his arm around her when Sonia leaned into his shoulder and took a long shuddering breath.

“I don’t have to worry because you look after each other. That’s how it works now, right? You’d just have extra incentive.” She tilted her head to look up into his face. “Besides, Olivia would shoot anyone who tries to hurt you guys.”

“That’s true,” Lincoln admitted, and hugged her. “I’m not trying to look for reasons this won’t work.”

“You’re just being cautious.” Sonia wiped at her eyes and pushed herself upright. “Maybe I should be playing hard to get, but I have a good feeling about you. And Charlie pretends to be so tough, but he’s a big romantic goober at heart.” She giggled, mostly to herself. “Don’t tell him I said that. No, go ahead, he knows it’s true.”

He chuckled about that while moving back to his original seat. He’d missed having someone to laugh with, too.

Sonia clapped her hands. “Okay, that’s enough serious stuff for one day. Next time, you should come over for dinner and help me cook. And then sometime, you say when, you should stay the night.”

“Sooner rather than later,” he murmured, and was charmed again by her bright laughter.

 

* * *

He started spending his time with them, free and otherwise. They did fit, in bed as well as out, and after two months it was clearly ridiculous to keep paying rent on his nearly abandoned apartment. And Charlie and Sonia’s place had plenty of room.

He was becoming part of the family, being drawn into the good and the not-so-good moments. Sonia was there to mediate between him and Charlie when they got in an argument about Lincoln’s tendency to organize his space and the things in it...and yeah, he should’ve asked Charlie first. But Robert had been a legitimate slob, and Jules was usually too tired to straighten up when she got home. The dynamic here was different; Sonia enjoyed keeping house, that’s why she’d chosen to live by her own schedule. Even so, she left Charlie’s dresser to his particular devices. Lincoln would just have to learn to ignore all the mismatched socks in a pile.

He returned the favor when Sonia and Charlie had a disagreement about household finances. It turned out Charlie had a (very occasional) habit of impulse-buying pricy luxuries—in this case, a pair of outrageously expensive designer sunglasses. Sonia scrupulously maintained the finances and deviations upset her. They could afford it, especially with a third salary, but that wasn’t the point.

He went to watch Charlie coach his games. As promised, Sonia started shepherding him around the city, giving him a sense of Boston as more than just a place of residence. Lincoln hadn’t decided on a volunteer assignment yet—integrating into his new family took priority, and Fringe matters tended to eat into both his leisure time and his peace of mind. Still, he was happier he’d been since Robert’s death, and he could feel himself settling in for the long term.

True to form, Lincoln found himself second-guessing the ease of his new relationship. Sure, an unattached single could be relatively sure of proposals from couples looking for their third—he’d declined a few offers in the months after he and Julie finally split, between heartache over his lost family and the new oddities of working at Fringe Division. But it felt like he’d fallen into an ideal situation with hardly any effort on his part.

He’d learned early on that Astrid offered the best counsel at work or away from it, far more empathetic than the official division psychologist. Besides, Lincoln hated the idea of his personal life being evaluated alongside his work record.

Lincoln lured Astrid away from the lab with an offer of lunch and a promise to have another agent look after Walter in the meantime. Astrid accepted with a speed bordering on desperation. Lincoln resolved to share in the responsibility of looking after the scientist henceforth.

Astrid listened to his half-formed doubts with commendable patience. She was smiling and shaking her head by the time he trailed off, unable to adequately frame his own uncertainties. “You know, it’s okay to just decide to be happy.”

He stared at her for a moment, then laughed ruefully. “Is it that simple?”

“Maybe not, but it’s worth the reminder. For all of us. As for things happening too easily...” Astrid took a long sip of her soda. “You never know. When I met Frank—well, I knew that I wanted him in my life the moment I saw him. Lucky for me, he felt the same. On the other hand, Brandon kind of crept up on both of us. We kept working together and getting along, and things evolved from that. It doesn’t always have to be a dramatic affair, Lincoln.”

He leaned back in his chair, considering. “So I should stop being so skeptical and go with the flow.”

“That works for me,” she agreed. “But I’m in favor of people being happy, however they get there. Especially in our line of work.”

That was, Lincoln thought, possibly the most significant factor in all of this. Everyone working at Fringe was aware of the risks...at least the hazards they could anticipate. But they all understood how much they _didn’t_ know about the world they lived in. Enjoying his personal life to its fullest extent was probably the best, most rational response to the uncertainties of his work.

* * *

Lincoln had done his best to embrace Astrid’s wise advice by the time Peter Bishop appeared in the universe.

...or reappeared; the specifics involved quantum entanglement and infinite possibilities and only Dr. Bishop seemed clear on the details.

But it was entirely clear after a short while that Olivia had been waiting for him, without knowing it...or perhaps on some level she had known, if Walter was right. Regardless, Peter slid into her life and into the everyday workings of Fringe Division as if he’d always been there—like he claimed he had been, in another timeline.

It would have been easy to suspect him of ill intent, if not for the certainty in Olivia’s eyes and the ease with which Peter navigated his new/old home.

Lincoln’s own reaction to Peter was...visceral. Something about Peter resonated with him, caught his attention. They fell easily into casual conversation and an effortless friendship, which was nearly foreign to Lincoln’s experience.

“See something you like?” Charlie teased, because Charlie missed nothing.

He said it casually enough, but tension lurked underneath the quip. Lincoln had admitted to being interested in Olivia, and Peter was undeniably his type. “Just appreciating the new scenery,” he told Charlie.

His theoretical interest might have been irrelevant in any case. He’d never seen a duo as _complete_ as Olivia and Peter seemed to be. Sure, he knew of couples who had broken with tradition. They usually allowed room for a third person in their relationship, even if they never partnered with a permanent third.

He wasn’t sure anyone else could fit in the world Olivia and Peter had made for themselves, a world full of memories no one else in this universe shared.

As much as he liked them both, as much as he could see himself with them, the idea of trying to negotiate past that wall of shared experiences was simply too daunting. Perhaps they might have made it work in another reality, like those Walter postulated.

Lincoln did recognize the irony, and had to laugh at his own musings. Why it took speculating about impossibilities to accept that the relationship he wanted was already in his hands....

All he had to do was commit to it.

He and Charlie made their way home after a thankfully crisis-free day. Lincoln watched as Charlie threw his jacket over the sofa instead of the coat hook, heard Sonia singing to herself in the kitchen, and realized he was smiling. “Hey, Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for—for inviting me into your life.”

Charlie blinked at him, understandably confused. “Uh, sure. Everything okay?”

Lincoln leaned in to kiss his partner. A quick touch for now, with a silent promise of more later. “Everything’s great. I’m home.”


	2. Outtake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Takes place sometime early in the relationship.)

Sonia was going to visit her brother in Iowa, swearing that she would bring Lincoln along next time to meet her family. Charlie rolled his eyes, saying sotto voce, “Dodged a bullet on this one—but hey, they’re great!” he finished more loudly to Sonia’s glare. “Real, uh, salt of the earth-type folks.”

Sonia snorted. “Charlie can’t stand Anton’s wives. But you’re overdue for a visit too, buster.” She kissed him and Lincoln goodbye and headed out to her taxi with a wave. “Have fun, guys!”

Charlie grinned at Lincoln. “Dunno about you, but I’m thinking it’s a perfect day to sit around in my skivvies and drink beer and watch SportsCenter.”

“Belching and scratching?”

“Mandatory,” Charlie said with a definitive nod.

Lincoln laughed and went to find something that would meet Charlie’s standards for ultra-casual day. He decided on a worn pair of pajama pants and an ancient henley. Charlie nodded his approval, having changed into sleep boxers and a faded black t-shirt that Lincoln knew was soft from long wear. He ran warm in contrast to Lincoln and Sonia’s tendency to feel cold at average temperatures.

But once they’d settled in, Lincoln found he wasn’t really that interested in the broadcast. He kept glancing over at Charlie, unable to keep his eyes off the muscles of his arms, the strong lines of his legs.

“...what,” Charlie finally said after the third commercial, but he didn’t sound annoyed.

“Just appreciating the hotness of you,” Lincoln said, and laughed at Charlie’s expression, mixed discomfort and amusement.

“Well you just...appreciate away,” Charlie muttered, but Lincoln caught him sneaking return glances after that until Charlie finally put down his beer. “Okay, I give. You wanna spend the weekend screwing until Sonia gets back, I’m down with that.”

“Hey, if you’d rather watch the talking heads...” Lincoln started, but Charlie rolled his eyes and turned off the remote. “I was just thinking, we haven’t really talked about what else we might like in bed.”

Charlie eyed him. “We’re compatible so far, right? Everybody likes oral sex, everybody likes getting fucked—”

(Lincoln flashed back to Sonia’s voice, high-pitched and breathless: “—yeah, like that, go on, give it to him!”)

“—so what else do we need to talk about?” He shook his head before Lincoln could explain. “No, scratch that, I get the point. It’s been a while since Sonia and I did the whole rundown. And you...” he smirked. “You’ve been making up for lost time, we didn’t want to get creative until we were all more comfortable with each other.”

Lincoln stretched out, his foot resting against Charlie’s thigh. “Well, I’m comfortable now.”

“Good.” Charlie got a hold of Lincoln’s leg and dug his thumbs into the ball of his foot.

Lincoln let out a startled yelp...and then a moan. “Stop doing that never.”

“That’s the idea.” Charlie started really working Lincoln’s foot over. “So was there something specific you wanted to talk about?”

“Uh. Not while you’re doing that. ...I didn’t mean stop!”

Charlie chuckled and dragged Lincoln’s other foot up for equal attention. “Okay, I’ll start. Sonia likes being tied up. I’m okay as long as I can get out of it—no handcuffs, but a tie or something looped around my wrist is fine.” Charlie rotated his hand in a circle, as if demonstrating. “You?”

Lincoln took a moment to appreciate the images before saying, “I’m not comfortable being bound. Even light restraints, I get tense. But I’m fine with being held down, and I’ll follow directions. So if you tell me to hold onto the headboard with both hands....”

“You won’t let go, no matter what? Useful.” Charlie hmmmed thoughtfully. “I know you’re not shy about asking for what you want. You fishing for something in particular?”

Lincoln huffed a laugh. “Like you said, I’ve been impatient. But now that we have time....”

Charlie’s eyes were intent. “Now that you’ve decided that you’re staying, you mean.”

Lincoln batted the foot Charlie wasn’t working on against his thigh. “Yes. Since I’m staying.”

That earned him renewed effort to the foot rub. And since the pressure of Charlie’s hands sizzled pleasantly up Lincoln’s nerves, he was entirely content to keep the conversation going. “What about, uh. Leaving marks? Bites and hickeys?”

Charlie shrugged his agreement. “Okay by me, as long as they don’t show at work. Sonia’s not really into it. You like that?”

“I don’t mind,” Lincoln said, and didn’t miss the spark of interest in Charlie’s eyes. That was definitely a thread to follow up on. “In the same vein, spanking?”

“Sonia loves it. Me, not so much.” Charlie shifted a little, looking uncomfortable. “I run pretty vanilla, I guess.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true.” Lincoln put that aside for the time being. “Is there anything definitely off the list?”

“No bloodplay or weapons in the bedroom, that’s a strict rule. Or breathplay.” Charlie shook his head. “I mean, if you’re desperate for it we can discuss, but otherwise—”

“No, that’s fine.”

“You’re kind of a chameleon, aren’t you,” Charlie said fondly, and it was so breathtakingly accurate it took Lincoln a couple of breaths to unscramble his reactions. Charlie was adding with concern, “Not in a _bad_ way—”

“That’s...accurate,” Lincoln said, thinking back to Robert saying one night, with exasperation, _you never ask for anything_. He’d never been sure Robert understood that Lincoln already had everything he wanted. “My preferences tend to mirror whoever I’m with. If you want it, I probably want it. And if I don’t, I’ll tell you.”

“Counting on that,” Charlie said. “But if you’re missing something, we can try that too. It’s not like Sonia and I have the kink encyclopedia memorized or anything.”

Lincoln grinned. “We could institute a special date night. Flip through the _Kama Sutra_ for suggestions and everyone gets to vote or veto.”

Charlie barked a laugh. “I like it! Get out of the routine. Not that there’s anything wrong with the usual.”

“No,” Lincoln agreed, “there really isn’t.” He took a long breath, enjoying the sensation of Charlie’s knuckles against the arch of his foot. “You have amazing hands.”

“I’ve been told.” Charlie looked smug. “So now it’s your turn, while you’re turning to mush. Tell me what you want.”

“I like going slow,” Lincoln said without hesitation. “Taking my time with my partners. That hasn’t been in evidence recently, but I like drawing things out.”

“Well, sure, who doesn’t like a marathon,” Charlie drawled, and they both cracked up. “Just ignore me if I start swearing at you.”

“At least until you safe word out,” Lincoln assured him. “But you know I like your voice, so....”

Charlie ducked his head a little but Lincoln could still see his expression, his smirk hanging somewhere between satisfaction and embarrassment. Lincoln batted his other foot against Charlie’s thigh again. “I haven’t even gotten to everything I want you to do with your hands.”

Charlie’s head shot up again. “Uh. Yeah?”

“That’s the advanced class,” Lincoln with his own smirk, and watched Charlie’s eyes widen as he thought about that.

After a moment Charlie said, with a pointed look toward the bedroom, “We do have the weekend. No time like the present?”

“Soon,” Lincoln said softly, and Charlie blinked at him before settling back with a faint grin.

“I see how it’s gonna be. You come off all accommodating, as long as you’re getting what you want.”

Lincoln touched his finger to his nose and Charlie laughed again. “Fair enough. You’re a sly one, Lincoln Lee. ...Hey, wait a sec! You never said if _you_ liked spanking.”

“But I did say I liked your hands.” Charlie definitely flushed at that, and Lincoln considered his next words in light of Charlie’s reactions. “You can be a little rough—in a good way! And you like seeing your partners react to stimulation. Like with the spanking, or marking. I bet you’d like playing with ice, too—”

Charlie was shifting around again, but this time it wasn’t out of awkwardness. Lincoln smirked at the erection threatening to burst out of Charlie’s shorts. “Why don’t you do something about that?”

“Why don’t you give me a hand?” Charlie retorted.

Lincoln shook his head, reaching into the table by the sofa for lube and a washcloth. Sonia really did think of everything. He tossed Charlie the tube. “I want to watch.”

Charlie snorted but arranged himself on the couch, stretching out. “Whatever floats your boat.”

Lincoln watched as Charlie settled into an easy rhythm, stroking himself with unselfconscious ease. “I like that, Charlie. Watching you. And thinking about what I want to do after.”

Charlie groaned, letting his head loll back. “Got me all revved up and you’re still cool as a cucumber.”

Not at all true, Lincoln thought, but it was a useful impression. “I’m saving my strength for later.”

“Got plans, do you.”

“Yeah,” Lincoln told him. “I’ve got plans.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from “Triad,” written by David Crosby and recorded by Jefferson Airplane.
> 
> This assignment made me smile. alt!Charlie/alt!Lincoln would’ve been an easy go-to...but no one had written Charlie/Lincoln yet (!), and I considered that a challenge. When I started thinking about it I realized I really didn’t want to fridge or ignore Sonia, so Triad Verse seemed to be the best answer. I hope that suits you!
> 
> Triad Verse background, though I’m not assuming all those world-building elements are necessarily in play: http://triadverse.tumblr.com/post/86154454124/triad-verse-faq
> 
> This story had to take place in an s4 revised timeline, because otherwise Olivia/Peter/Lincoln is inevitable. IMO. ;)


End file.
